11:33 Ben: I had a blast. Big thanks to Dan for doing a bang-up job leading the live blog, and thanks to everyone who partipated in the comments. See y’all at ACM season!

11:32 Tara: Thanks for hanging out, y’all! Tonight’s show kind of grew on me, with its surprising focus on the music (how quaint). And lest we forget: when Adele wins, we all win.

11:27 Dan: And we close the show with a spirited “Carry that Weight” with Paul McCartney, The Boss, Dave Grohl, and a bunch of guitar dudes I’m ashamed to say I don’t recognize. Slow night, but some really nice moments!

11:24 Dan: “A little bit o’ snot” is literally the best thing I’ve ever heard in an acceptance speech. I don’t know how you could hate Adele.

11:22 Ben: Does Adele need to come up with her own version of the Surprised Face?

11:21 Dan: So many upsets tonight!

Album of the Year: Adele, 21

11:20 Ben: I love the chirpy way Diana Ross talks.

11:13 Ben: “Still to come: Will Diana Ross present the Grammy for Album of the Year to Adele…” or to someone who is not Adele. Gotta love how they at least attempt to build supense.

11:11 Ben: “Thank you so much. This is ridiculous.” Oh, how she makes me smile.

Record of the Year: Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”

11:1o Ben: Go ahead, Lady A. Remind us of all the undeserved awards you won last year.

11:10 Dan: I wish I had liked that song more on first listen. Nicki’s a great talent, but that felt self-indulgent.

11:10 Ben: It’s…interesting.

11:08 Tara: From a visual standpoint, this is the coolest performance of the night. Jury’s still out on the song. I’m kind of scared?

10:17 Dan: Thank goodness – they’re sounding nice and string-bandish on “Gentle on My Mind.” I usually find Kimberly’s vocal style a little shouty, so it’s good they’re performing a song with a quick, percussive feel.

10:16 Dan: Glen Campbell time! Don’t blow this, Perrys.

10:10 Ben: THIS IS ADELE’S MOMENT.

10:09 Tara: Adele looking as gorgeous as she sounds. The nuance in her performance is just incredible.

10:09 Ben: Adele is looking great tonight. That new haircut suits her well. Oh yeah… sounding great too.

10:08 Ben:At least we can enjoy the long-awaited Adele performance as I’m reeling from the Lady A victory.

10:04 Ben: I already knew that Lady A’s new music was ovverrated as heck, but honestly… This isn’t even funny anymore.

9:59 Tara: I told you guys I had a feeling about this. What a disappointment, and what a waste of sheer talent.

9:59 Kevin: They must own the accounting firm that tabulates the votes.

9:59 Ben: Oh gosh. This is the part where I start throwing things at the TV.

9:55 Well, this second song maybe sounds a little more raw and pitchy. Maybe it was just on “E.T.”

9:54 And the most obvious lip-synching of the night: Katy Perry.

9:52 Ben: Happy face for Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth!

Song of the Year: Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, “Rolling in the Deep”

9:37 Ben: I hate how the host network away has to stick the stars of their current programs in random spots just like ABC does with the CMAs. I know they want to drive ratings, but it seems to take the focus off the music.

9:50 Ben: I must have missed the “OMG!” face. Either that or I’m so used to it that it goes by without notice.

9:46 The Taylor Swift “OMG!” face returns. It was so ridiculous that you had to laugh.

9:46 Ben: My favorite performance so far by a long shot. A wonderful and unabashedly fun performance.

9:44 Tara: A lovely 60 seconds of “Barton Hollow” followed by Taylor Swift’s best live performance in a while on one of 2011’s best country singles. Country music victory on the Grammys. Wonder what Lefsetz is thinking right now?

9:42 This is kind of surreal, seeing her perform the song that was probably inspired by the backlash over her last Grammy performance.

9:42 Ben:It’s great to see a Taylor Swift performance that actually feels representative of the country music genre.

9:41 Ben: Yay! It’s our jam! “Mean”!

9:40 Ben: I can’t get over how much John Paul White looks like Johnny Depp.

9:38 Ben: Finally! The Civil Wars are here to restore order.

Best R&B Album: Chris Brown, F.A.M.E.

9:34 Paul McCartney crooning some very Valentine’s-Day-ish song. The Grammys are determined to send us to an early sleep.

8:52 Wasn’t wild about the audio job on that Foos performance, but it’s great to see they’re still on top of their game. Dave Grohl really is an icon.

8:48 Jack Black introducing the Foo Fighters is just the injection of life this show needs after that sleepy duet.

8:45 Ben: I like “Don’t You Wanna Stay” for what it is, but I don’t like the way it sounds in a live setting. I have an acoustic version in my iTunes, and I so much prefer listening to it in that form.

8:42 Ben: Yeah, leave Kelly’s mic on. Turn Jason’s off. Works for me.

8:41 Kevin: For the blog: I think they turned off Jason’s mic. Thanks for that.

8:41 Tara: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” isn’t an awful representation of country music on the Grammys, I suppose. I just. Don’t. Get. Jason Aldean.

8:39 I like “Don’t You Wanna Stay” but this performance does have a little of that “Ooo is that paint drying over there?” quality.

8:37 Ben: Yay, Reba! Nice little speech about how music brings people together.

8:37 Well okay. Hey, Reba’s here!

Best Rap Performance: Jay-Z & Kanye West, “Otis”

8:30 Tara: Not particularly impressed by this infamous Chris Brown comeback performance. All I know is Ken Ehrlich’s “victim” statement is deplorable.

8:10 Ben: That was cool how they showed the clip of Whitney singing “I Will Always Love You.”

8:10 “Are we excited to hear Adele’s beautiful voice tonight?!” They’re not even going to pretend this isn’t her show, y’all.

8:06 L.L. Cool J is the first Grammy host in several years, and he’s kicking off the night in beautiful fashion with a prayer in memory of Whitney. “There is no way around this; there’s been a death in the family.”

8:01 Kicking off with Bruce Springsteen is not the worst idea. Sounding lively on “We Take Care of Our Own.” It’s hard for that sentiment to set off some thoughts about last night’s events – I wonder if the whole night will be like this.

7:51 Watching this 60 Minutes on Adele. It’s really cool. I don’t have anything else to say about it, really – I just missed you guys!

7:05 Howdy, guys. Dan here. I’ll be running the blog tonight, though a lot of us CU writers will be chiming in. After last night’s loss, should be an especially dynamic show. It’s a good occasion to remember what a special gift music is. Show starts at 8 PM/7 Central – hope you can join us!

I haven’t seen The Band Perry / Glen Campbell mentioned in any of the promos. Is this standard practice given they aren’t headlining (by a long shot) or is this a sign they’ve been bumped for a surprise Whitney musical tribute?

Also, this is perhaps the first time I’ve ever heard Rihanna live, and it’s… odd. It’s proficient, if a bit breathy, but every line seems infested by the dispassion that made the verses of “Umbrella” so unique and interesting.

w00t! I had no idea that Civil Wars were singing, if only a snippit. They were awesome.

Taylor Swift sounds pretty good too; the song actually seems to benefit from the quirks of a live vocal performance, and the arrangement and prominence of the female back-up vocals improve on the recording. Given what I’ve heard about her previous performances, it’s surprisingly on-key as well. Auto-tuned?

Aldean and Clarkson were okay, Swift was excellent. Country music is faring pretty well tonight. Hopefully Underwood will be strong, and the Glen Campbell tribute, with Shelton and the Band Perry, will provide some chills.

The higher registers of Adele’s voice sounded notably more polished than the lower. I’m not a specialist in vocal technique, but this seems kind of counter-intuitive. Makes me think there might have been a prerecorded track involved.

Either way, I hope Adele learns to use her voice more efficiently in the future. Vocal nodules were one of the factors responsible for the decline in Whitney Houston’s voice… along with the cocaine and marijuana habit, of course.

It breaks my heart to see Glen after his Altzeimer’s diagnosis. Because of my grandfather who we lost in October, I have an idea of what he and his family will go through. I’m glad he’s still able to sing and perform now.

I watched Glen’s “Goodtime Hour” in the summers of my youth. I also like “Gentle On My Mind” the best. I enjoyed the tribute. Glad two of his sons, and his daughter, are in his band sharing the final concerts with with him.

Have to comment – Looks like you have to be a crossover artist to get a Grammy award in country. Lady A, album, Taylor S with her one token country song on her album, gets vocal(performance nicely autotuned) and song. Why does she remind me of a Holly wood movie set? all facade, no substance.
Thought the Glen Campbell tribute was good, Jason and Kelly not so good, Tony B and Carrie, good vocals, whoa for Tony being 85 and still singing and putting out albums! Show overall,lots o bad music with bad delivery- thank goodness there were some sparkling moments in between!

Think you hit the nail right on the head Neil. Tay had that one token country song on her album and has all sorts of pop artists share the stage at her concerts. Lady A’s album (though I will say there are 2 songs on there that I find quite nice) is more pop than country by a long shot. I would have loved to see Jason Aldean to have gotten that honor at the grammys this year. I thought the Glen Campbell tribute was nice, Jason and Kelly was off because of the mic Jason had, Carrie showed off yet another side with her flawless duet with Tony though I will say Tony seemed somewhat nervous or something…
Loved Adele and loved Jen’s tribute.

The best part of the night…TS looking stunned when she didn’t win Country Album. I wished it had gone to a real country artist. I like Lady A fine but they are as about as country as Taylor, but I do like their songs a lot better than hers. Since I think her song was padded(auto tuned), she needed some padding in her dresses…talk about flat. I thought her voice was flat..but!! I’m just saying.